Behind the ScenesBehind the Sceneswith Style Guideswith Style GuidesAdvantages of a Journal-Advantages of a Journal-

Specific GuideSpecific Guide

CSE 2014 Annual MeetingCSE 2014 Annual Meeting May May 5, 20145, 2014

Peter J. Olson, ELSPeter J. Olson, ELSSenior Copyediting CoordinatorSenior Copyediting CoordinatorDartmouth Journal Services Dartmouth Journal Services || SheridanSheridanWaterbury, VTWaterbury, VT

Why create a journal-specific style guide?Why create a journal-specific style guide?

~ the information in a general style manual is too sparse to address your journal’s needs fully

~ certain components of your journal are not covered in a general style manual

~ you want to tailor a general manual’s guidelines to suit the needs of your journal

~ you publish different article types that have different style rules

~ you have certain author queries that must be worded in a precise and consistent way

~ you just want to be

You will find that:

different

co·py·ed·it·orco·py·ed·it·or (Textus (Textus obsessivusobsessivus))

§28.4.2.11 | Miscellaneous Front Matter

AcknowledgmentsAn author’s recognition of persons, groups and contributions important to the production of the book appears under this heading. These may be placed on a separate recto page if not included in the preface (see section 28.4.2.10) or on the verso of the title page (see section 28.4.2.4).

Style manual: Style manual: CSECSEStyle point: Style point: AcknowledgmentsAcknowledgments

EXAMPLE 1:EXAMPLE 1: Style point stated too broadly Style point stated too broadly

Do I include the location

of the affiliation?

Should the heading be singular if only one

person is acknowledged?

Should I use “We thank…”

or “The authors

thank...”?

Are the authors

allowed to thank their reviewers?

Should I allow

“Dr.” or “Prof.”

before the name?

Why create a journal-specific style guide? EXAMPLE 1: Style point stated too broadly

EXAMPLE 2: EXAMPLE 2: Style point not coveredStyle point not covered

Style manual: Style manual: AMAAMAStyle point: Style point: Figure citations in textFigure citations in text

§4.2.8 Placement of Figures in the Text. In the published article, figures should be placed as close as possible to their first mention in the text. Figures should be cited in consecutive numerical order in the text, and references to figures should include their respective numbers. For example:

Patient participation and progress through the study are shown

in Figure 1. Figure 1 shows patient participation and progress through the

study. Patient participation and progress through the study were monitored

by the investigators (Figure 1).

…but what about:

~ figure panel letters?

~ figure subpanels?

Figure 1A or Figure 1A or

Figure 1, A etc.

~ more than one figure?

~ figures and tables cited together?

~ more than one panel?

Figures 1, 2, 4 or Figures 1, 2,

and 4

Figure 1Aii or Figure 1Aii or

Figure 1, A, ii etc.

Figure 1, Table 2 or Figure 1 and Table 2 or

Figure 1; Table 2 etc.

Figure 1A,B or Figure 1A,1B or

Figure 1A and 1B etc.

Why create a journal-specific style guide? EXAMPLE 2: Style point not covered

EXAMPLE 3: EXAMPLE 3: Tailoring to your journalTailoring to your journal

Style manual: Style manual: AMAAMAStyle point: Style point: “Standard” “Standard”

abbreviationsabbreviations§14.11 Clinical, Technical, and Other Common Terms. This

compilation of clinical, technical, and other common terms and their abbreviations is not intended to be all-encompassing but is provided as a short reference.

  AIDS* acquired immunodeficiency syndromeCOPD chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseECG electrocardiogram, electrocardiographicRBC red blood cellWBC white blood cell

*This abbreviation may be used without expansion.

Are you publishing a cardiology journal? You may want to allow all

of these abbreviations without expansion.

*

***

EXAMPLE 4:EXAMPLE 4: Special article types Special article types

Editorials

Reviews

Letters to the Editor

CommentariesCase

Reports

Image of the Month

Short Communications

Errata

Retrospectives

These article types will by their very nature require modified, divergent, and/or additional

style rules.

CME papers

EXAMPLE 5: EXAMPLE 5: Author queriesAuthor queries

Integrating standard author queries into your style guide will:~ ensure that all of your authors are held to the same

standards ~ ensure that all of your authors are receiving the same message~ elicit a specific and/or desired response from the author~ reduce confusion

Per journal style, titles cannot run onto three lines in print. Because your title is more than 120 characters, it may run onto three lines. Please provide an alternate title that is fewer than 120 characters in the event a shorter title is needed.

The journal does not allow citations of unpublished data; the citation for unpublished data has thus been removed from the text. If you wish to reinstate the citation, please (a) provide the data as Supporting Information or (b) provide an “in press” reference if citing an article that has been accepted for publication.

Does the use of “African American” pertain specifically to American citizens who are of African descent? If not, please provide further specification; otherwise, all instances of “African American” will be changed to “black” per journal style.

EXAMPLE 6:EXAMPLE 6: Being different Being different

§5.2.3 | Author Contributions. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors encourages authors and journals to disclose authors’ individual contributions to the work reported in published articles. Following this recommendation, a number of journals now publish lists of author contributions in the article’s “Acknowledgment” section. For example, JAMA publishes each author’s contributions, as shown in the example in the Box on pages 143-144.

 Author Contributions: As principal investigator, Dr Kroll had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Study concept and design: Kroll, Smith, OtterAcquisition of data: Kroll, OtterAnalysis and interpretation of data: Kroll, Smith, OtterDrafting of the manuscript: KrollCritical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Smith,

OtterStatistical analysis: Kroll, SmithObtained funding: KrollAdministrative, technical, or material support: KrollStudy supervision: Kroll

Style manual: Style manual: AMAAMA

Style point: Style point: Author ContributionsAuthor Contributions

Why create a journal-specific style guide? EXAMPLE 6: Being different

I want to publish author contributions, but I also want to:~ limit the types of contributions

~ categorize contributions differently

~ identify the authors by their initials

~ list the contributions in a different order ~ run the contributions into one paragraph

~ make the contributions roman, not italic

Writing

Study supervision: Kroll

Statistical analysis: Kroll, Smith

Acquisition of data: J.K., A.B.S.,

T.O.

of the manuscript: Kroll

Kroll, OtterAnalysis and interpretation of

data:

Study concept and design: Kroll, Smith, Otter

Keys to building a journal-specific style Keys to building a journal-specific style guideguide

Effective Effective categorization categorization

Effective cross-Effective cross-referencesreferences

Effective examplesEffective examples

TIP:TIP: Focus on the Focus on the question,question, not the not the outcome.outcome.

Use to separate statistics (eg, OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.04–1.49)

Use in numbers of ≥4 digits (eg, 1,000 not 1000)

COMMACOMMA

SEMICOLONSEMICOLONUse to separate citations of figures and

tables (eg, Fig. 3; Table 5)

Use to separate product from supplier name (eg, MaxArray; Invitrogen)

STATISTICSSTATISTICS

NUMBERNUMBERSS

CITATIONCITATIONSS

SUPPLIERSUPPLIERSS

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide

Effective categorization Effective categorization

Consider the user’s perspective when categorizing your style points.

~ help the user find information quickly

~ reduce the risk of contradiction

~ allow flexibility in organization/categorization

~ streamline document navigation

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide

Effective cross-references Effective cross-references

Incorporating cross-references into your style guide will:

EXAMPLE:EXAMPLE: AbbreviationsAbbreviations footnotefootnote in in tablestables

Three potential ways to categorize:

Abbreviations

Footnotes

1. Place in the 1. Place in the TABLESTABLES chapter in the chapter in the Footnotes/AbbreviationsFootnotes/Abbreviations section.section.

Tables

2. Use2. Use cross-referencescross-references in the in the ABBREVIATIONSABBREVIATIONS andand FOOTNOTESFOOTNOTES chapterschapters to redirect the user to the to redirect the user to the TABLESTABLES chapter.chapter.

TIP:TIP: Consider the main focal point.Consider the main focal point. The question pertains to a component of a table.

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide Effective cross-references

Solution:

simplesimple

comprehensivcomprehensivee

clearclear

Provide an accurate representation of your journal’s content.

Use examples that show style variations.

realistirealisticc

Avoid unnecessarily lengthy text.

Use examples that can stand on their own.

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide

Effective examples Effective examples

Effective examples are:

UP NEXT:UP NEXT:

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Smith, T., D. L. Nelson, Jr., T. A. Jones, et al. 2007. A monoclonal antibody reactive with mature human T cells: expression of Tac antigen on cytotoxic killer T cells and suppressor cells. J. Immunol. 126: 1378–85.

~ number of author names + “et al.”

~ author pedigrees

~ article subtitle capitalization

~ spacing of multiple author initials

~ truncated final page number

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide Effective examples

This This comprehensivecomprehensive example demonstrates:example demonstrates:

The GoodThe Good

Style rule: Journal article reference formatStyle rule: Journal article reference format

Why is it better?Why is it better?

In text, abbreviate the word “Figure” as “Fig.” even when it begins a sentence.

Original example:Original example: Better example:Better example:Fig. 1 blah blah blah...

Blah blah blah Fig. 1, blah blah…

…blah blah blah (Fig. 1), blah blah…

Fig. 1 shows a photograph of…

As shown in Fig. 1, we found…

…in mice (Fig. 1), but not in rats…

Style rule:Style rule:

Lackadaisical examples can Lackadaisical examples can communicate a communicate a

lackadaisical attitude toward your lackadaisical attitude toward your journal.journal.

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide Effective examples

The BadThe Bad

1Present address of H. Solo: Padawan Academy, 1 Jedi Master St., Coruscant City, Coruscant, New Republic.

If an author has a current address, set the footnote as follows:

Original example:Original example:

Better example:Better example:1Present address of H. Robinson: University of Wisconsin, 1 University Ave., Madison, Wisconsin.

Why is it better?Why is it better? Realistic examples help the user (a) make real-life Realistic examples help the user (a) make real-life connections and (b) apply editorial style correctly.connections and (b) apply editorial style correctly.

Keys to building a journal-specific style guide Effective examples

The UglyThe UglyStyle rule:Style rule:

In closing…In closing…

Creating a journal-specific style guide:

~ promotes consistency and uniformity in your publication

~ minimizes confusion

~ reduces editing time

~ simplifies implementation of style changes/updates

~ documents/communicates essential style customizations

~ makes your copyeditors happy

Thank you!Thank you!

Peter J. Olson, ELSPeter J. Olson, ELSSenior Copyediting CoordinatorSenior Copyediting CoordinatorDartmouth Journal Services Dartmouth Journal Services || Sheridan SheridanWaterbury, VTWaterbury, VT

Cheryl Iverson, MACheryl Iverson, MACo-chair, Co-chair, AMA Manual of StyleAMA Manual of Style CommitteeCommitteeThe JAMA NetworkThe JAMA NetworkChicago, ILChicago, IL

Tom Lang, MATom Lang, MATom Lang CommunicationsTom Lang CommunicationsSeattle, WASeattle, WA((ModeratorModerator))

David MorrowDavid MorrowSenior EditorSenior EditorUniversity of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressChicago, ILChicago, IL